The German Constitutional Court issued a landmark decision with implications for many companies doing business in Europe on July 9, 2021. For decades, the European Commission and EU member states strived to create a pan-European Unified Patent Court (UPC). After overcoming many hurdles, any sensible commentator will be cautious in making statements about the future of the UPC. That said, for the first time in years it now appears that the pan-European patent litigation system may finally come into being. This is particularly relevant for companies from the life sciences sector that tend to enforce their blockbuster patents in parallel proceedings in the most relevant jurisdictions. The new system and the availability of pan-European injunctions means that claimants will be able to move from five parallel cases to one. However, the new system also comes with disadvantages such as pan-European invalidation proceedings. Nobody can predict the quality of judgments issued by the future court. For owners of European patents who are concerned about losing their IP rights, now is the time to identify the crown jewels and to make an informed decision about opting out.
To read more about the new provisions to PatG please read the client alert written by Dr. Anette Gärtner and Dr. Alexander R. Klett.